Pontoon boats (and tritoon boats!) are loads of fun at the lake, whether you’re looking to take a leisurely sunset cruise or zip around with tubers. They’re a favorite of “up north” vacationers looking to relax thanks to their comfortable layouts, capacity for large groups and relatively quiet motors.
One of the trickiest challenges of a pontoon boat? Docking! Unlike speedboats and jet skis, pontoon boats generally don’t dock into lifts (although they can) but pull in along side a dock. They have a very wide turning radius, so precision in angling the boat into its resting place is key. It’s also important to attach bumper buoys to the pontoon boat to prevent it from slamming into the dock and getting damaged.
Pontoon boat riders also commonly like “hop” from place to place, whether it be docking their pontoon at lakeside restaurants and homes of friends and family or mooring their pontoon boat in random spots in the lake itself like sandbars to have some shallow water fun! This variety in destinations for pontoon-ers mean the docking situation can vary greatly making docking evermore challenging.
While many traditional and relatively inexpensive options exist to dock or moor pontoon boats, one newer option to make the job easier and more flexible is to install Sea Legs for pontoon and tritoon boats permanently.
What are Sea Legs?
Sea Legs (officially Sea-Legs™) are a portable hydraulic lift system for both pontoon boats and tritoon boats.
They consist of two aluminum legs that affix to the bottom of the boat between the toons, one towards the front of the boat and one towards the back. These legs drop down into the water, plant firmly into the sand and completely lift the boat above water level.
They are versatile and can be moved up and down simultaneously or one each leg independently. The legs come in a standard 6 foot height (suitable for depths of 4-5 feet maximum) or an extended 8′ height (suitable for depths of 6-7 feet maximum).
Sea legs for boats are controlled by either your smart phone through an app or the provided wireless controller.
Benefits of Sea Legs?
Sea Legs for pontoon boats have advantages over traditional options for a few reasons.
Most people “park” their pontoon boat by tying it to a dock or posts. While it’s the cheapest option as it requires little or no additional equipment (besides buoys) it’s also the most difficult to navigate and has the highest risk of causing damage to your boat both while docking and while docked.
Less frequently, but still an option, is using a pontoon boat lift. These are bulky operations that require significant effort to put in and take out each season. However, they are relatively easy to use and minimize damage to your boat as the rails allow you to simply guide your pontoon onto the lift. But that ease can cost you an additional several thousand dollars.
Sea Legs, while definitely the most costly option, are the clear winner when it comes to versatility. They can dock in any water up to 5 feet deep (or up to 7 feet deep with the extended size legs) which makes them an excellent choice for boaters on the go looking to dock in more locations than just on their property.
Sea Legs significantly reduce the potential for damage to your pontoon boat whether on your property or on the go as they lift the boat up and out of the water, preventing it from drifting or lapping with the waves.
How much do Sea Legs cost?
How much are sea legs for boats? Our price for the standard 6′ length for sea legs on a pontoon boat was $7200 (including installation costs) in Spring of 2022 in northeastern Wisconsin.
Once we found a dealer, the process of getting the sea-legs installed was relatively easy. The dealer picked up our garaged boat (which was about 30 minutes away) with their own trailer and then took it back to the dealership for installation. They also brought it back to our cottage and re-garaged it for us.
One thing to note is that we did have a little difficulty finding a dealer that both carried Sea Legs and had them in stock. While we weren’t especially surprised about the low inventory since supply chain issues are pretty well known and widespread, we were surprised by the number of dealers who said they used to carry them but no longer did. We elaborate on that more in the “Common Sea Legs Problems” section below.
What are alternatives to Sea Legs?
People have been docking and mooring their pontoon boats in bodies of water without Sea Legs for as long as pontoon boats have existed, so Sea Legs are absolutely a luxury and not a necessity. There are a few other commonly used options that come at varying costs and with varying levels of ease.
Docking a Pontoon Boat
The most common method of “parking” a pontoon boat in the water is to attach it to a dock. If you’re a cottage owner, chances are you already have a dock. If you do, then tying your pontoon boat to the dock is the least expensive and most accessible way of “parking” it.
It is also one of the riskiest. Tying your boat to your dock puts a significant amount of pressure on the dock as the boat will always be pushing it or pulling it in a certain direction. You only want to dock your boat on a grounded and secure dock. Additionally, you run the risk of damaging your boat as it tends to “bang” against the dock constantly.
There are a few things you can buy to improve security of your tethered boat as well as reduce the risk of damage to it.
First, you’ll need to dock cleats to affix to the dock. You will need at least two, one for the front of the boat and one for the back of the boat, and they will be permanently screwed into your dock boards so that you have a secure place to tie rope to. Your pontoon boat should already have cleats installed, but if not, consider buying additional to affix to your boat.
Dock Edge Galvanized Dock Cleat
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Next, you’ll need rope. It may be called any number of things like “dock line”, “anchor line”, “mooring rope” or even “marine rope” and others. Generally what you’re looking for is at least 3/8 inch thick double braided nylon rope with loop ties.
1/2" x 15' Marine Grade Double Braided Dock Line 4-Pack
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Lastly, you’ll want at least 2, preferably 3 or 4, boat fenders. These are inflatable vinyl buoys that you tie to the side of your boat to prevent it from making contact with the dock and becoming scratched or otherwise damaged.
White Ribbed Boat Fender 2 Pack by Dock Edge
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Mooring a Pontoon Boat
The term “moor” simply means to attach a boat to a fixed object as opposed to something impermanent and movable like an anchor. Docking a boat is effectively mooring a boat on a dock. But there are other ways to moor a boat.
Lifting a Pontoon Boat
Stationary lifts are another option for docking a pontoon boat. Similar to those more commonly used for jet-skis and speedboats.
Can you put Sea Legs on Tritoon boats?
Yes! Sea Legs work on both twin toon (or pontoon) systems and triple toon (or tritoon) systems.
Common Sea Legs Problems
While there were a few different specific causes, the impression we got was that almost every instance of sea legs not working was due to user “user error” of the owner. Nearly all issues fall into the category of boat owners not properly using and caring for their Sea Legs.
Chief among those causes was bringing the sea legs up or down while the boat was in motion or not fully retracting the sea legs before going out for a cruise. Pressure from the water against the sea legs while a pontoon boat is moving, even at relatively low speeds, can cause major damage to the hydraulic cylinders which need to be properly functioning for the unit to work.
Ultimately, none of this deterred us from purchasing sea legs and we don’t think it should deter anyone else considering sea legs either! As long as you use them properly (repeat, make sure they are completely retracted while the boat is moving, even at slow speeds!) you are unlikely to face any serious problems.
Sea Legs and Trailers
You can use either a bunk trailer or a scissor trailer like you normally would with your pontoon or tritoon boat even with Sea Legs installed.
Sea Legs vs. Ultra Legs
To be clear, these products are very similar. Both companies are based in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota and aim to solve the traditional problems of your typical “up north” pontoon boat owner. We found Sea-Legs to be more widely available in our area (Northeastern Wisconsin) but that might not be the case depending on where your “up north” is!
Overall, we feel Sea-Legs are the winner when doing a side-by-side comparison of the two brands, but not by much. Sea-Legs do appear to fit a broader range boat sizes (in length and weight) and are able to be controlled by a phone app in addition to the included remote control, but the differences (at least the significant ones!) more or less end there.
If you don’t care about phone app control and have a common size pontoon or tritoon boat, then we would recommend simply going with the brand available at your most trusted and convenient dealer.
Sea-Legs
- Fit Boats 18-30 feet
- Two Year Warranty
- Pontoon rests on two 48" x 18" pads; Tritoon on 33" x 8"
- Controllable by remote or phone App
- Pontoon and Tritoon compatible
- Standard 6' leg height with option to increase both legs to 8'
- Pontoon holds up to 7000 lbs; tritoon up to 15000
Ultra Legs
- Fits boats 20-26 feet
- Two Year Warranty
- Pontoon rests on two 48" x 18" pads; Tritoon on 31" x 8"
- Controllable by remote only
- Pontoon and Tritoon compatible
- Standard 6' leg height with option to increase rear leg only to 8'
- Pontoon holds up to 5800 lbs; tritoon up to 7500
Where to buy Sea Legs
If you own a boat in the upper midwest, you should have no issue finding a dealer that sells, installs and services Sea-Legs.
